AAVMC Honors Kornegay with an Invited Lecture at Annual Meeting

Posted February 04, 2014

Dr. Joe
Kornegay

COLLEGE STATION, TX – Dr. Joe N. Kornegay, Texas A&M
University professor in the departments of Veterinary Integrative
Biosciences and Veterinary Pathobiology at the College of
Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and the Institute for
Neuroscience, was recently selected for the Recognition Lecture
award by the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges
(AAVMC). This is an honor given to an individual whose leadership
and vision has made a significant contribution to academic
veterinary medicine and the veterinary profession.

The award will be presented during the AAVMC Annual Conference
on Saturday, March 15, at the Westin Alexandria in Alexandria,
Virginia.

Kornegay plans to speak about his research in a canine model of
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and how this relates to the
broader concept of "One Health,” in which human and animal medicine
are inextricably linked.

For more than thirty years, Kornegay has studied a spontaneous
canine disease termed golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD),
which serves as an animal model for DMD in humans. Both conditions
are X-linked, meaning they are caused by mutations in a gene on the
X chromosome. His research has defined key clinical and pathologic
features of GRMD to better understand the causes of the disease and
analyze possible treatments. In recent years, Kornegay’s laboratory
and collaborators have studied various treatments in affected dogs,
and results of these preclinical studies should guide the use of
similar treatment strategies in DMD patients.

“We are proud of Dr. Kornegay and his recent recognition by the
AAVMC,” said Dr. Eleanor M. Green, Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary
Medicine. “Dr. Kornegay’s work has been a cornerstone example of
what we’ve come to embrace as the One Health approach and has
helped to demonstrate the importance of the connection between
human and animal health. His research with canine DMD patients is
at the forefront of a revolution in biomedical sciences in which
purebred dog populations are ideal subjects for identifying
specific genes associated with diseases that affect both dogs and
humans, such as cancer, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, heart
disease, and many others.”

After receiving his veterinary degree from Texas A&M,
Kornegay spent three years in private practice in Ohio and Texas
followed by six years in residency (neurology and pathology) and
graduate (Masters and PhD) training at the University of Georgia
College of Veterinary Medicine. Upon completion of this training,
he served on the faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine at
North Carolina State University for 11 years before moving to the
College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri where
he eventually became the college’s dean.

He moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in
2006 and to his current position at Texas A&M University in
2012. In both of these positions, his responsibilities have focused
on research.

Kornegay is a diplomate and past president of the neurology
specialty of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
(ACVIM) and currently serves as ACVIM's president-elect.

“Dr. Kornegay has made exceptional contributions to veterinary
medicine as an academic dean, skilled clinician, visionary leader,
and accomplished researcher,” said Dr. Evelyn Tiffany-Castiglioni,
professor and head of the Department of Veterinary Integrative
Biosciences. “The list of recipients of the AAVMC Recognition
Lecture reads like a who’s who of veterinary medicine. I have
had the honor of knowing some of the individuals on the list, and I
know that Dr. Kornegay brings additional honor to an already
distinguished company.”

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